Power Rangers: Encore
by padfoot2099
Summary: Three teens living in Stone Canyon have formed a rock band in their spare time. However a regular rehearsal goes terribly wrong as time quite literally stops, everyone and everything motionless as the three friends come face to face with a gang of monsters named "Noise". Just when all hope seems lost, a very familiar power chooses to protect them.. and it's time to drop. To Morph.
1. Chapter One: Day of the Noise

_Chapter One._

_ Day of the Noise._

"Reina, he's late."

"Well isn't he always late?"

"Yeah but that isn't the point! Today is kinda a big day isn't it? I mean I think this is a pretty serious discussion we have to have."

"Casey will be here."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because that's just how he is isn't he? You know, never there when you want him, but never there when you actually need him."

"You make him sound like a superhero. Although I'm sure that's exactly how he sees himself in that whacky brain of his. Pretty sure his mom dropped when he was a baby, and I'm pretty sure that's because he asked her to."

"Erik!"

"Ow!"

"He'll be here, okay?"

Erik shot his faithful little sister an incredulous look before turning away and muttering under his breath, "Starting to wonder if that'll be such a great thing…"

"Hey guys!"

Reina shoved her fist into her brother's rib again sharply as they turned toward the voice that had called out to them.

It had been a fairly normal Friday afternoon in the suburbs of Stone Canyon, or what the teenage populace referred to it 'coolly' as the S.C. Upon first glance the day was no more or less different for these particular three teens either; it was tradition to not only spend time together after school, but to practice in their little garage band for hours on end. Upon second glance however one could see the slight tension that perpetrated the air within their little music space as their final member quite appropriately finally arrived.

This tension did disperse, albeit for a brief moment, when the pair looked at their classmate with tilted heads. "Uh, Casey, what are you wearing?" Erik questioned though not sounding the least bit curious.

"Oh this?" The long haired teen lifted up a yellow hockey mask revealing his wide grin, "Yeah, this is kinda why I was late," he explains as he tosses it passed them, the mask itself banging loudly against his drum set. "I was playing hockey with Tommy, my second-cousin twice-removed on my step-step father's side. He was feeling a bit down because his girl broke up with him through a Dear John letter, she had gone off to become a gymnast. Sucks, she was really cute. I forget her name though. Kim? Kimberly? Kat? Katie? Kira? Kathryn? Bah, I'll never remember," he laughs as he makes his way to his drum set, plopping himself down on the stool before exclaiming triumphantly, "Oh snap! I remember! It was Amy. Dunno why the hell I kept thinking it started with a "k'. Sorry guys, been feeling a bit scattered-brained lately.

"Oh, just lately you say?" Erik mutters under his breath with a smirk. It isn't low enough to escape his sister's apparent acute sense of sound however and her fist finds her way to his rib as though it were magnetic.

"So, Casey!" Reina says loudly to mask the sound of Erik's yelp of pain. "We have to talk."

"Yes Reina, I'll marry you, but you could have shown more class and not ask in front of your brother," he replies very absentmindedly as he searches for his pair of drumsticks.

Erik turns menacingly toward his extremely scattered-brained friend but Reina cuts him off swiftly. "Duly noted so I'll withdraw the question," she tries to hold back a smile as she sees out of the corner of her eye her brother rolling her eyes at the mere thought of them walking down the isle. "We do have another question. Well to be specific I have an idea I want shoot at you."

"Load the chamber and blow me away," he grins as he twirls a stick oddly impressively in his hand, eyes thoroughly fixed on her.

"Well, we've been practicing as a band for awhile now right?"

"Eight month's thirteen day's and roughly eighty-eight seconds from now, yeah," he nods as the spinning drum stick dances even faster between his trained fingers.

"Yeah, right… well, I have an idea. You know about Holly's Haven right?"

"Yeah! Great music store down on Cherry Hill road. Great store. Terrible road. Needs more cherries."

"Agreed," she presses on, "I was down there just last weekend and I found out that they hold an open mic there. It's for comedians, performers, and most importantly musicians. I was thinking maybe we could perform there, the three of us as our first real gig."

"Yeah, and I'm not so keen on it," Erik comments, "I mean, we've gotten a lot better, there's no question. I feel more than comfortable singing and playing rhythm guitar now more than ever, and Reina here has been getting her bass lines down pat," his sister looks up innocently at him, "and you Casey with your drums, you, you…"

"Yeah buddy?" Casey says eagerly.

"You… bought a drum set! Good job!"

"Yeah, it's a talent," he nods knowingly.

"Agreed." Erik says in that same no nonsense tone his sister had used and also presses onward. "As great as we may have become over all this time, I'm just not quite sure we're ready yet-"

"We are ready!" she exclaims.

"No we aren't. We haven't even come up with a name yet."

"We don't really need one. The songs we do know we can nail perfectly."

"They are also all songs we cover Reina, from other bands much more well known to say the least. I mean I know they're fun to do and all but don't you want to wait till we get good enough to create our own songs and then perform them?"

"What's wrong with doing covers? It's just our first gig anyway!"

"There's nothing wrong with it but I seriously doubt a crowd will be willing to sit through a set list that's half Weezer songs and the other half indie crap!"

"Hey! Those are the songs that I chose and they are not indie crap, plus it's just an open mic so we don't have to do a full set list, just one song!"

"Hey!" Casey interjects as he springs to his feet. "You guys are asking for my opinion right? Well are you gonna let me give it or you guys just gonna keep yelling at each other? Sheesh," he exhales as he sits back down, "you guys fight like your brother and sister."

In unison they slap a hand to their foreheads. "We _are_ brother and sister, remember?"

"Oh yeah, weird coincidence huh?" he remarks. Before the duo could slap their foreheads again he continues, "If you want to know my opinion then I'm with Rei-rei on this."

"Did you just call her ray-ray? Never mind," he sighs, "are you serious Casey?"

"Yes I am. We've been together for awhile now, so what's the point of making all this noise if we're the only ones who get to hear it? I always imagined us playing for people, not for garages."

This stirs something deep within Erik as his friend's words working their wisdom through his mind. Reina raises her eyebrow at the sudden burst of advice their friend had produced, thoroughly shocked and awed. If there was one thing she loved about the boy it was his ability to be unpredictable and to say what you meant to say in very interesting ways, albeit better for worse.

"Okay." Erik says after a long pause, rubbing his chin. "We'll do it. But, before you get all happy Reina, I have some conditions.

"First, we'll practice two months in advance,"

"That's too far," she complains, "two weeks."

"Too soon, compromise, let's say one month then."

"Two weeks."

"Three weeks."

"…Two weeks and a day?"

"Two. Weeks."

"Deal, two weeks," he submits as he rolls his eyes, "but we practice every other day till we do and when practice we practice hard alright? We can get our songs down better and tighter that way, and then we'll have time to decide which song we think sounds best to perform onstage."

"Yeah!" Casey shouts in enthusiasm, "Now that's what I'm talking about! Good thinking there, just tell us what to do 'ol fearless leader!"

"Fearless leader, yeah right," he laughs off as he motions towards a resting crimson red guitar leaning against the garage wall.

"Seriously Erik I think it's a good plan," Reina nods, "let's make it three weeks then, okay?"

He doesn't quite smile, but Erik knows it's an accomplishment to make his sister bend away from her, albeit usually right, stubborn way of thinking. "Deal. But for now your fearless leader wants to know if we can actually get to practicing now?"

"Yeah!" Reina reaches for her bass guitar and throw it on happily. "What do you guys want to start with first?"

"Anything but Greenday, I'm getting sick of-"

"Brainstew by Greenday on three!" Casey yells, "One, two, three and four, let's drop!"

But before any of them get the chance to 'drop', the garage door careens wide open.

"The hell?" Erik walks toward the door and begins to try to pull the door manually back down. "Reina did you hit the garage door opener by accident?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I didn't. Weird, but then again it's not like it's the first time right?"

"Yeah, well, how's about this for a first time," he drops his hands to his waist, "I can't get it to go back down."

"No?"

"No, it won't budge at all."

Before Reina could give it a try however Erik notices Casey's finger outstretched. "Uh, guys?"

"Yeah?"

"That woman is watering her lawn."

"Yeah so? It's just our neighbor."

"The water isn't _moving_."

The duo glance their neighbor. Although it may ironically have been the oddest thing that had came out of Casey's mouth that afternoon, it was also the truest.

Unfortunately.

"Well, would you look at that," Erik breathed.

Hypnotically they walked out pass the driveway and onto the woman's lawn, dumbfounded at the frozen liquid that had once been flowing freely through the air, and looked almost as equally dumbfounded at the woman who appeared to be robbed of all motion.

"Uhm, Tori?" Reina tapped her shoulder, but no response. Carefully she removes the blue headphones she had been wearing whilst watering her grass. "Tori? Tori? Tori!"

"It's no use, and it isn't just her guys," Erik slowly began to realize as he walked out onto the street. "It's, it's everyone. Every_thing._"

"Nothing is even playing on these things," she notes, "nothing at all… no noise…"

A dog frozen it time as it chased after the postman, a little girl stuck in mid air as a pair of jump ropes sat suspended in mid-air both above and below her. It was as if the trio had magically been whisked away into a Norman Rockwell painting.

"This can't be a prank, this is physically impossible. Like, literally, physically, impossible." Erik shook his head.

"What is going on?" Reina clasped her hands over her mouth. Her knees begin to buckle, the sudden weight of their impossible situation clutching her heart. "Erik, Erik? Erik, I c-can't breathe…"

"Rei-!"

A bolt of lighting strikes the area near his feet even before he could take one step toward her falling sister.

"Guys… what the hell is that?!" Casey shrieks as he points at something creep its way towards them.

Something not quite human… but not quite a monster either. Its skin was metallic, bolts of electricity dancing madly around its tall frame. Its eyes were devoid of pupils and as round and large as footballs, dark circles surrounding them. However it barely stood a head taller than either of them and initially appeared to be the same height as them as well. It was hunched forward, arms dangling in front of itself in a terrible posture, its fingers crackling with bolts of energy, torching the pavement it moved under.

"Well, at least it moves slow right?" Casey noted.

And, as if on cue, it manifested itself as a streak of lighting and appeared almost instantaneously in front of himself and Reina, smacking the incorrect teen with a swiftness they could not hope to outclass. Casey reeled through motionless air and up the driveway into his garage landing terribly on his bass drum.

Before either of them could scream his name aloud however the monster takes its hand and digs it fingers teasingly into Reina's ankle.

Only blood and screams exit her innocent body.

"REINA!"

Without thinking, without even think he had screamed her sister's name, he knew only one thing.

Either attack this monster or have a dead sister.

This decision didn't require time to think.

Bringing his hands up over his head he prepared to deliver a haymaker, but as if it sensed his attack a bolt of lighting struck him around his navel, leaving him a crumpled heap on the ground. "Ahh, ah… you gotta be kidding me…"

"You gotta be kidding me," Casey moaned as he made his way out of his own bass drum. Blood was trickling over his forehead, but he was still in one piece and on his feet.

Slowly but surely adrenaline began coarse through Erik's veins. Although it was nothing compared to the bolts of lighting that seemed to be what this monster was composed of, it did allow the teenager the chance to get back onto his feet as well. "Yo Casey! You alright?"

"Y-Yeah but I think its coming back to me for round two!" he screams in panic.

"Damn!"

"I know right?" deliriously Casey points to the sky as if he were having an Eureka moment, "If only we could teleport…"

"Dammit Casey snap out of it or you're gonna die!"

"I'm just saying it would be cool if we could teleport!"

And once more as if on cue Casey stares in amazement as the monster travels literally at the speed of lighting in front of the unique teenager. The lighting it produces crackles itself loudly, almost as it the energy itself was laughing at the boy.

"Yeah, teleport… like that…" Casey laughs hopelessly. He lowers his finger gradually. "I gotta learn not to point at things. Bad stuff happens when I point at things."

"Well, that doesn't happen everyday…"

"Reina!" Erik kneels down to his sister. "You okay?"

"I think I'm fine but my leg, I-I can't move my leg!"

"Just hold on okay? Just hold on for me," Erik pleads, but he doesn't know what's next to come, and what he could guess, judging from the sheer speed and strength from this alien being, he dared not say aloud. He begins to watch in terrors at the monster raises a deadly hand to his drummer friend.

"Well guys, I guess this is it!" he shouts towards them, gripping the remains of his destroyed bass drum. "Thanks for giving me a chance!"

A chance to be what, they both wonder deliriously. A chance to be in their band? Admittedly they weren't his first choice but still.

"A chance to be what?" Reina yells to their doomed friend.

"No, a chance," he smiles as he raises his drum above the monster's head in a vein attempt, "a chance to be your friend!"

Erik dashes back up the length of his driveway, but it's pointless. "CASEY!"

"Well, as I used to say," he smiles as he thrusts the drum down onto his attacker, "LET'S DROP!"

A bright light.

A bright, yellow light.

It's a charming, slicing, dazzling light, outshining all from view.

And for a moment.

Nothing.

And as for the next moment.

Power.


	2. Chapter Two: Commanding a Command Center

_Chapter Two._

_ Commanding a Command Center._

_ "Oh fuckedy fuck fuck fuck!"_

_A plane making a deafening crash landing just a few streets over… people running manically in the streets, rioting and looting the nearest human being to them… and monsters. Inhuman, devilishly looking monsters, silently moving amongst the mass of hysterical people… they were all identical to the one who had attacked them earlier but these particular ones weren't attacking all…_

_ Amongst this chaos however there was clearly no need to…_

_ Sure enough these humans were sure to destroy themselves._

_ All it was going to take was time._

_ Erik shrieked the curse word once more into the air just as the surrounding horde of people and monsters alike began marching towards him with authority…_

"FUCK!"

Erik's entire upper body shot upward instantly, his bewildered eyes scanning his surrounding for any hint to the destruction he had just witnessed.

There was not a lick of evidence to support his memories however. He was sitting upright in the old musty golden colored couch he had shoved into his garage much ago, and next to it, same as they always were was there band equipment. He did quickly notice that the bass drum to Casey's kit was indeed missing, but considered it little to be to suspicious about.

This was mainly due to the fact that he had just spotted his sister Reina sound asleep in the adjacent companion couch.

"What an insane dream," he laughs to himself, briskly rubbing his hands over his eyes with smile. He had remembered one of those white and black humanoid monsters stabbing his sister's leg and tossing him through the air so vividly. Clearly all they did was have band practice and took a random nap; the garage light had been on and the open door clearly showed the night sky.

"Okay, no more beauty sleep for me," he grins to himself.

"Yeah, I don't blame you dude. It's clearly not working."

"!"

Yellow. It's the first and only thought that drifts through his mind for what feels like eons as Erik gazed upon the yellow-being that stood calmly before him.

Armor. Yet skintight. It looked as though it were merely its skin, and yet at the same time gave off a very distinct vibe of sturdiness and strength to it. Its very presence reminded him briefly of the monsters in his dream, but his aura was a calm a soothing one compared to all of that noise the monsters seemed to emit.

It was leaning up against his father's tool bench, arms folded. It was impossible to tell what expression the being had on its face as it appeared to be wearing some sort of smooth metallic helmet, complete with a black opaque visor that completely disguised any features the creature had outside of this power suit. Yellow bolts of electricity seemed to be dancing around him, similar to the monsters but these were calm, controlled.

Almost as if they were alive.

And yet, still.

"Y-Yellow," Erik murmurs at the being with a pointed finger.

"Dude, get a grip," it chuckles. Something Erik also to notice was that whenever it spoke it sounded as though his voice were being filtered through some sound-mixer. "You look like you just saw what you look like when you try to sing!"

He doesn't hear any of this however as Erik springs to his feet, but this attempt is short lived as a shooting pain rises from the ball of his heel to his spine, his entire lower body aching with pain.

Almost as if he had just been tossed several feet in the air.

"W-What are you?" Erik gasps as looks up at the figure, huddled behind the couch on the floor.

"Dude, seriously, you're starting to freak me out. But considering what we went through I guess it's not that surprising eh? At least Reina's leg seems to be healing up?"

He remembered it so well, the monster stabbing his sister's leg.

And yet he still asks.

"What happened to my sister's leg?"

"Uh, duh? That thing totally wrecked it all up. Not the only thing it wrecked either," it mentioned toward Casey's drum set, "not that I'm comparing your sister's leg to my stuff but, I mean come on! I just finished paying this thing off, you know?"

"Wha… W-Wait-aminute…"

"Careful man, at this rate you'll be over gasped."

"Casey?!"

' "That's what they call me. When they're nice anyway."

"Dude! What the hell are you wearing?"

"…What?"

Carefully he looks down.

The bolts of lighting begin to dance erratically out of control.

Erik didn't need to see past the black visor to know the expression of confusion and terror imprinted on his drummer's face.

"Ahhhhhhgrhhhh!" Casey began screaming in horror at his transformed self, bolt of lighting thrashing around their band space. Lighting threatened to lick Erik's body as he scooted back and away till his back hit the opposing wall, praying against hope he wouldn't get electrocuted. "What the hell is this, what is this?!"

"Dude you got to calm down!" Erik shouted over the crackling of electricity that hung in the air.

"I c-can't, what _is_ this!"

"You asshole, you're going to get us killed if you don't calm the hell down!"

"W-Whaaat?"

"Calm down! It wasn't going crazy until you started freaking out! Think of something, I don't know, calming!"

"Uhh, uhm," he paced around the length of the garage, pausing only for a second to glance at Reina who, quite remarkably, remained sound asleep through the commotion he was generating.

And just when Erik began to wonder just what it would be like to be electrocuted to death, his idea achieved the desire effect.

"That was awesome."

Erik had been looking through narrow eyes at his panicked companion but opened them fully to these words. Not only had the lighting ceased going haywire, but Casey looked completely normal, freed from his other-worldly form.

"Dude…" Erik said shaken, slowly but surely getting back onto his feet. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know man, it must've happened when that monster attacked us and time, like, stopped and everything," he replied absentmindedly. "I charged that thing with my drum, then there was this yellow light and I could feel this power."

"So that part did happen," Erik breathed. "What about the plane crashing and the people rioting, and all the other monsters that started appearing?"

"What are you talking about? There was only one of those things. You and Reina were tossed around pretty hard."

Erik couldn't suppress a sarcastic grin. So only those parts sounded ludicrous, but the whole time 'stopping' and being attacked by a monster was perfectly in the realm of reality.

"We were going to die, man," Casey continues, "I didn't know what I was thinking but I… I just grabbed my drum, charged at the thing and next thing I know it happened.

"I could feel this beat coming from inside me. Almost like I was hearing my own heart. I just thought that's what happens when you're near death, but it felt warm. And strong. Very… strong, like a steady, unbreakable strength, it felt like I was being guided. Like I had this drive and I kinda knew what to do with it.

"I beat the shit out of it."

Maybe it was the sudden realization of the strength of their friendship, maybe it was because just how fantastical this all sounded despite the concrete truth. Or perhaps Erik was just more of an asshole than he initially believed, but he replied, "Oh yeah, I'm sure you did after it started beating the shit out of you."

"I'll admit, it did get some pretty good shots in," he conceded but instantly pressed on, "but, Erik, I had the feeling, I just _knew_ that suddenly out of nowhere I was on even ground with it. That I could beat that Noise."

"Noise?" Erik questioned. "That's what that freak of nature was called?"

"Well that's what I call it. When I finally beat it, it started melting, like it was oozing up into the air," he shrugged, "you ooze, you loose, I guess. When it started doing that it started twisting and bending, shrieking so loud before it finally popped like a balloon. Then time stopped, well, stopping.

"I brought you guys in here hoping you would wake up, and here's the weird part man,"

"Right, because everything up to this point has been relatively sane."

"Just listen for a minute smartass!" Never before had Erik heard Casey talk as seriously as he had now. "You and Reina. RAY. NA. She started glowing, like this aura around her. And you had this field around you too."

Erik glanced back at his still asleep sister.

"I think it was healing you guys. I think you woke up first because you weren't as bad she was, but look at her leg now. It isn't nearly as bad as it was a couple hours ago."

Erik released a sigh of relief. "That's… good," he swallowed.

"Yeah, but dude, I didn't even know I was like that until you woke up and started freaking out," he smiled broadly, "I looked like a freaking superhero! And dude! That must mean you and Reina could have transformed like me too! It must have to do with you guys glowing! Aw man, why did I have to be yellow? I mean, I pull it off, but still. Because, dude, I don't know if you remember but I remember you glowing red. Reina was already passed out and you weren't long after her, but you were definitely glowing red before I saw all this yellow and you passed out too. So if I'm yellow I wonder what that makes Reina, probably pink. Why do you get the only boy color? That's not fair. Maybe I can change it by thinking blue thoughts or something? Maybe I just got to think sad thoughts. Oh man that's going to be a bummer. Oh cool, I guess I'm doing that right now huh," he rambled.

"Casey, when she wakes up and if she's completely healed, we can't tell her."

"What?" he said thoroughly dejected. "You for real man? Why? This is pretty serious stuff isn't it?"

"We don't know what this 'stuff' is," he reasoned, "and it's clear that you don't either. Hell, you didn't even know you were looking all weird until I noticed it! You almost electrocuted me dude!"

"Yeah but I did save us! I was the hero!"

"Thanks for that," he said as sincerely as he could, "but that doesn't change the fact that we don't know for sure what the hell is going on."

"This is a bad idea, we need to talk about what happened, all three of us need-"

"We need to keep Reina safe!"

"What if they pop up again and attack her?" Casey reasoned, very nearly at the edge of shouting. "Just like they did today and she's scared as hell again!"

"Or what if they don't? Or what if all it does is just makes her so damn paranoid of being attacked like that again?"

Casey shook his head in disbelief. "She's going to remember what happened."

"Chances are she's going to think it was just a dream just like I did!

"This isn't a good idea Red."

"Red? Don't call me that. Yellow."

"Yeah, I'm yellow and also a superhero now! I just saved you and your sister's asses!"

"Okay mister superhero! If you are one then start acting like one! I'm trying to protect my sister here just like you did! Now stop acting stupid!"

"I'm not acting stupid _Red_!"

"I told you not to call me Red, SpongeBob!"

"Oh yeah, and what you gonna do about it Kool-Aid man?"

"…Guys?"

Their eyes instantly shot over to Reina, finally awake and stirring within the couch gradually trying to sit herself upright. "What's going on?"

"Hey there," Erik rushed over to her, tossing aside the argument without a second thought. "You alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, chill out," she yawned, noting the odd concern in her brother's voice, "did I just pass out or something?"

"More like something…" Casey mumbled under his breath. Erik quickly elbowed him in the ribs before continuing on.

"Yeah, we had band practice, then you sat down here to take a load off then next thing we knew you were passed out asleep," Erik summarized.

"Weird," she said beginning to stretch, "I had this weird dream, well, more like a nightmare."

"You don't say."

"Yeah, I'm actually kinda glad you two woke me up. What were you two yelling about anyway, sounded like you were arguing?"

"Who would win in a fight, SpongeBob or the Kool-Aid man," Erik smiled.

Casey folded his arms and said through gritted teeth, "My money's on the man from Bikini bottom."

"Boys," she sighed, getting up off the couch and heading into the house, "I'm going to grab some food I am so starving, but if I had to pick a side I'm with Casey on this one."

He pumped his fist into the air before Erik's elbow found its way to rib again.

"Casey I'll be seeing you tomorrow, we have to practice each day if we're going to perform live at Holly's Haven in a couple of weeks!"

"You know it!" he shouted back at Reina as she closed the door behind her. "We're going to bring the Noise alright…"

"Dude…"

"I know, I know," Casey sighed, "I get what you were saying. Kind of. But look, if it happens again we have to ell her alright?"

"Deal," Erik nodded. "Just life as usual till we sort this all out. And no telling anyone else either! Not that they would believe us anyway, but still."

"Of course!" Casey smiled, his old jovial self returning. He waved a finger, "A superhero never reveals his secret identity anyway."

Erik's voice turned serious again for a brief moment. "If it does happen again, do you think you can become like that again? You know, uh, _morph_ into what you were?"

"I don't know," he said somberly, "but I'm going to have to. Otherwise… well. You remember."

Erik sighed a heavy sigh before making his way into the house, quietly resolving to not let his sister out of his sight for the rest of the night. "Don't remind me man."


End file.
